Written by Daniel Wright
Hip-hop is arguably the only profession where the larger your ego gets, the greater the reward. And so the ego gets even larger.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Kanye West? Although Mr. West’s and Dwayne Carter’s (Lil Wayne) back stories are quite different, their confidence is a common denominator and their willingness to take chances sets them apart from other rappers. In a lot of ways, Rebirth is Wayne’s version of Kanye’s 808s and Heartbreak: the albums look better on paper than they sound.
It takes a character like Wayne to claim to be the “the best rapper alive” years before proving it by dropping Tha Carter III, the best-selling record of 2008, outselling Coldplay, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Since Tha Carter II (2005), Wayne has been unstoppable. There are a few less-than-par mix-tapes, but plenty of club features (“Sweetest Girl,” “100 Million,” “Let It Rock,” “Forever,” etc.) to tide us over between albums.
Like Michael Jackson, Lil Wayne got his start very young and had his first solo album at just 17 years old. He’s now 27 years old and has seven solo albums and 10 official mix-tapes. In truth, Wayne’s secret has always been quantity, not quality. In that respect, a consistent album like Tha Carter III is more of an anomaly than a standard by which to compare his future work.
Originally, Rebirth was set to release in April of last year, but had several set backs. That, combined with Wayne’s new-found love for the guitar, made the anticipation for Rebirth overwhelming. But if you’re like me, when “Prom Queen” (the first single) was released last January, the excitement of an all-rock Lil Wayne album fizzled. There are a lot of possibilities why Rebirth doesn’t live up to its hype. Wayne’s gun possession legal problems likely didn’t help, but it’s probably simpler than that. Wayne is not a rocker (yet). Perhaps, we’ll have to wait for Rebirth III before he makes another magnum opus.
I want to like Rebirth, especially with all the other critics knocking it. And even with all the high-school references, I’m afraid I can’t pass this album off as appealing to the younger demographics, like previous Sound Checks (Ke$ha and Weezer). Lil Wayne doesn’t try to appeal to anyone, that’s part of his shtick. He is a Gangster. If you’re not convinced, watch the infamous Katie Couric interview. On Rebirth, Wayne was on some rock tip. Unfortunately for us, we’re still on Wayne’s tip. Here’s hoping that Tha Carter IV is something you can drive to without feeling embarrassed when the cops stop you.
Notable tracks: “Drop The World” ft. Eminem, “One Way Trip” ft. Kevin Rudolf & Travis Barker, “Prom Queen” ft. Shanell
Listeners may also enjoy: Jay-Z/Linkin Park – Collision Course, Mos Def – New Danger